


The Spinner & The Mermaid, Part IV

by Maplesyrup



Series: The Mermaid 'Verse [4]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Angst with a Happy Ending, Belle - Freeform, F/M, Fluff, Mermaids, Mr. Gold - Freeform, Not Beta Read, Not Canon Compliant, Spinner Rumplestiltskin | Mr. Gold, Wish Fulfillment, eventually, the mermaid 'verse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-03
Updated: 2016-05-03
Packaged: 2018-06-06 05:46:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,550
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6740968
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Maplesyrup/pseuds/Maplesyrup
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff"><p>You know what to do :)</p><p>As usual, prompts welcome via tumblr!</p></blockquote>





	The Spinner & The Mermaid, Part IV

_This is wanting something, this is reaching for it,_  
_This is wishing that a moment would arrive._  
_This is taking chances, this is almost touching, what the beauty is._  
_I don’t understand a word they’re saying,_  
_I’m as different here as different can be._  
_But the beauty is I still meet people like me.  
_ _-Light In The Piazza_

 

 

“What would you do to keep her?”

The Spinner stared at the sailor, his jaw slack. 

Keep her? He could _keep_ her? He wanted nothing more than to find out how and opened his mouth to say he’d do anything, but a sudden thought stopped his words.

To keep her was to…possess her. Like one would an object. She wasn’t a _thing_ to be owned. She was rare and beautiful and pulled at his heart with alluring agony and, oh, how he wanted her for his own. To know her, to care for her and love her with the days left to him on earth.

But if he pursued her, captured her, found a way to make her his own like _that_ , he was no better than any other collector, any other proprietor of those exotic menageries that had become so popular…and tragic. She was glory made form to him, and perfect the way her creator had chosen to make her. She would always be his mermaid, but he’d die before he _possessed_ her.

He shook his head angrily, a deep frown marring his forehead, and he spoke a measured version of his thoughts to the sailor, his hands clenched at his sides.

“I will not _own_ her.”

The sailor gave him a puzzled look, still puffing the last bits of tobacco in his pipe. He looked out towards the docks again and blew a final stream of smoke before turning the pipe over and tapping out the ash on the edge of his boot.

He tucked the bit of lacquered wood back into his pocked and regarded the Spinner with that narrowed, curious gaze, before his shoulders lifted in a huffed laugh.

“I didn’t say ‘own’, Spinner.”

He turned away, shoving his hands in his pockets and moving at a leisurely pace in the direction of the docked ships. The Spinner watched him for a brief moment before following.

They walked in an oddly companionable silence for awhile, the sailor’s even gait in rhythm to the Spinner’s cane tapping on the cobblestones. When they reached the harbor, the sailor stopped walking and looked hard at the water sloshing against the wooden hulls of the ships and the poles of the docks.

His chest rose and fell quickly, breathing in what seemed to be pain. The Spinner placed a hand on his shoulder, and the man jerked, ripped from whatever sad reverie had overtaken him. He scrubbed a hand over his face and turned back to the slighter man.

“Where?”

This time, the Spinner didn’t miss his meaning. He pointed off to the left, to where their ship was moored, and next to that, the dock where he’d last seen her.

“There.”

The sailor nodded once, resolutely, and took a quick, hard breath. He began to walk towards the dock and didn’t halt his progress until he’d reached the edge and the Spinner had begun to think he’d walk right into the water.

The sailor sat cross-legged, a salty night-breeze slightly ruffling the tousled dark curls on his head, and looked down into the water. The Spinner was at a loss; what could the young sailor be doing, looking into the murky bay water, like he was looking for his soul?

The sailor lifted his head and took a deep breath. He opened his mouth, and began to sing a beautiful, haunting melody that stilled the Spinner, rooting him to the spot in which he stood.

_“High is the moon tonight_  
_Hiding its guiding light  
_ _High”_

The Spinner watched, enraptured at the beautiful voice, until he noticed a slight ripple in the water that didn’t come from the small waves hitting the wood sunk deep into the ground.

 _“Heaven and earth do sleep_  
_Still in the dark so deep  
_ _I will the darkness sweep”_

The sailor reached down and touched the water with just the fingertips of one hand, and kept singing.

 _“I will the moon to flight_  
_I will the heavens bright  
_ _I will the earth delight”_

The Spinner wanted to interrupt, to break the spell the sailor was casting for he was growing uneasy, a feeling of fragility swirling in his gut making him feel as if he’d shatter once the song was finished.

 _“Open your eyes with me_  
_See paradise with me  
_ _Awake and arise with me”_

He grabbed the sailor when he paused for breath, squeezing his shoulder and gasping for his own air. Some invisible wraith had stolen his breath, his words, and he could do naught but stare in fear and wonder at the younger man.

The sailor turned to stare back at him, his hand still in the water, and regarded him with a calm but knowing stare. His arm gave a sudden jerk and his head whipped back to where his hand was just under the surface of the sea. The Spinner watched, spellbound, as a woman—a mermaid— emerged head and shoulders above the water, clutching the sailor’s hand. His heart clenched for a split second before he registered that, no, it wasn’t _his_ mermaid but a mermaid all the same. One with golden hair and large green eyes that stared at the sailor as if he weren’t quite real.

The sudden, strange rush of longing and joy replaced the feeling of a storm in the Spinner’s stomach and he nearly swooned, choosing instead to flop gracelessly onto the dock near the sailor. His unsteady movements startled the fair-haired mermaid and she pulled away, nearly dragging the sailor into the water with her. He spoke to her soothingly, and she calmed but regarded the Spinner warily.

He was incredulous, viewing another creature so like the one he loved communicate in their way with the sailor who spoke to her, his words loving and tinged with a hint of sadness as he told her she was safe, the other man was a friend. He turned to look at the man next to him, smiling kindly at the befuddled expression on the Spinner’s face. 

The sailor turned back to his mermaid and kissed the hand of hers he held. He leaned in to whisper in her ear, and she shot a curious look to the Spinner before her eyes grew wide with something akin to recognition. She let go of her sailor and moved to the Spinner’s side, an affectionate smile breaking over her face. She grasped his hand and squeezed and the Spinner returned her smile, feeling a bit giddy and off-balance again.

She let go of his hand and moved back to her sailor, who, much like the Spinner, gently cupped her face in his hand before she dove back under the water, ripples in the water the only trace of her.

He stared at the water for what felt like a long while before he felt the man next to him move to stand. The Spinner was ashamed at needing to be helped up, but he wasn’t sure of his footing at that moment. He stared at the sailor, his mouth opening and closing in bewilderment, but no sound came out.

The sailor gave him a world-weary smile, half sad, half amused and put an arm around the Spinner’s shoulder as he led them back up towards town.

As they walked, he spoke of the first time he saw his mermaid. He was lucky enough to catch her sunning on a large rock on the furthest side of the bay when he went swimming on a day of port. He’d been so mesmerized he nearly drowned, but caught himself in time to see those green eyes staring back at him and seeing him down to his soul, he felt. He was also lucky enough to meet a man much like them and soon after his first encounter. 

There was an old sea dog who’d taken it upon himself to build a collection of lore and literature regarding mermaids; most of it fiction but a few rare gems of actual truth shone through, and the sailor pared it down to those important pieces, compiling them into a thin tome.

They reached the tavern again, the revelry still in full swing. The sailor stopped before going back inside and shoved his hands into his pockets, seeming to decide on something before speaking again.

“There’s a way, Spinner.”

He glared at the young sailor, recalling his previous words on this topic, feeling displeased at having to repeat himself so soon. The sailor saw his expression and frowned, waving a hand negligently.

“There is a way, but it’s not yours to choose.”

He sighed, looking around to be sure they weren’t being overheard, but the only sounds were the goings-on inside the tavern and the distant crash of waves on the shore. He gave the Spinner a look that bespoke the secrecy of what he’d reveal and leaned close to the shorter man.

“I’ll give you my book. And then you’ll see for yourself.”

**Author's Note:**

> You know what to do :)
> 
> As usual, prompts welcome via tumblr!


End file.
